7 Things I Love About Divergent

[scribblemyname]

7 Things I love about Divergent:

1. The parents matter. They affect the plot, the story, the characters, and yet Tris is still her own person. Just the way it should be.
2. Tris is a product of her family. She has a father who knows how to think, a mother who is divergent and dauntless, a brother who knows how to strategize and do the necessary, even if it hurts someone he cares about. She fits. Her family is a part of her, and when she goes to save the day, they’re a part of it.
3. Four. Let me count the ways… I could go on about him forever.
4. The writing. It’s vivid. It sucks you in. I read those first 100 free pages and promptly plunked down $11 bucks to finish reading the book that night on my computer. The longer sample, by the way, the more likely I am to buy the book. Just saying.
5. The intimacy. Yes, that. The Four/Tris relationship was built up properly. It wasn’t about sex or physical attraction, though that was present. Mildly. It was about really falling deeper and deeper in fascination with each other and their minds and then wanting to express that physically. Intimacy is not sex.
6. The ideas. Tris is really more philosophical than you’d think at first glance. She not only thinks things through, but also rationalizes, analyzes, considers. She peers at her own self and tries to figure out what makes her tick. This, despite being raised Abnegation. In fact, I think that’s why she does it. She thought that if she could figure out herself, she could change herself and become selfless at last. Uh… No.
7. The secondary characters. They have their own lives, loves, hopes, dreams, tragedies. They don’t make Tris the center of their world or even share the center of their world with Tris. You can feel the world behind the tantalizing sketches and know how much pain they will experience, even without Tris noticing.

I can hardly wait for more. 14 days, y’all.

Originally published at Liana Mir. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[lithiumlaughter.livejournal.com]

1) Tris' mom. Just...Tris' mom.

2)You know, I'd never stopped to consider what impact Tris' father had on her. I was so wrapped up in the Dauntless plotline, I'd forgotten that her father was indeed a politician, and had his head screwed on right. I totally see that being where Tris inherited her quick eye and general powers of observation.

3) You and me both. He's just this ball and mess and beautiful and thoughtful and broken guy. He's so multi-faceted. All the characters are in their own ways, really. I'd argue that the main strength of the book is character and character development. Roth does essentially everything right, but that's where she absolutely shines.

4) I was hooked right from "There is one mirror in my house," because I am a sucker for opening lines. It just got better from there.

5) YES. This. So completely this. Characters can have an incredibly intimate romantic relationship without any sex being involved. It goes back to development -- Tris and Four's connection grows organically and it's something gorgeous to read. I mean, how more intimate can you get beyond literally allowing someone in your head?

6) Tris is so self-aware too. There's that one line of hers where she talks about how there's a girl inside her that wants to forgive and to comfort, she swears there is, but she wouldn't recognize her.
(I butchered that quote. I apologize.)
That hit me in the gut.

7) They have their own tragedies.
And how. I cannot WAIT to see the further fallout from the massacre, particularly on a personal level. Tris alludes to worrying Christina's reaction Will's death, and even then it creates this sense of dread in the reader. We know Christina and we know Will and it HURTS. Even the 'villains' get a little bit of them revealed to us, even just through Tris' eyes.


Gah. Now I want to go re-read "Divergent" again before May 1st. I can probably breeze through it today once I've finished cleaning the house a bit. NRGH. I love this book so much.

13 days!